When Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) throws a party, they allow nothing to get in the way. For only the second time in my 17 years in the cruise industry, I boarded a ship in a snowstorm. The two day Boston inaugural of the Norwegian Gem was smack in the middle of a blizzard that dropped 7 inches of snow on Boston in one afternoon. Once at the pier though, the cruise line went immediately into their standard outstanding shore side operation, welcoming everyone, thanking them for coming, and making sure it was as painless as possible to get onboard. Once inside, and away from all the elements, the magic was in the air, and one of the most beautiful ships I’ve seen was before me.

As I returned to the main lobby area on deck 7 after dropping my luggage off at my room, I was amazed at the size of the Wii screen they incorporated in the lobby. . The cruise director was recruiting passengers to participate in a home run derby while others mulled around the Java Cafe that sits amid the sofas and chairs in the lobby area. The Java Cafe was packed and serving everything from mocha lattes to apple martinis. This area would become a constant source of meetings and re-acquaintances for the next two days.
I think the best place to start today will be the venues for the Freestyle Dining, and there are a bunch of them. I had dinner this evening in the Teppanyaki room, which is nestled inside the Asian Orchid Garden area. Here is a shot of the room with its dine around grills, and accompanying show by the chefs. It was fun, and very entertaining, and was a good variety of chicken, beef, shrimp, scallops and lobster, and well as vegetarian. Something for everyone. If you wish to dine in here though, go early on the first day of your cruise to make your reservations. It is definitely a crowd favorite. I would later dine at the Garden Cafe on deck 12, which was a unique layout compared to some older vessels. The buffet was off to the right as you entered, and also on an island in the middle of the room, not the usual two sided affair, with the same items on both sides. All the seating was against the windows to the left. I appreciated how easy this made it to go from buffet to table, and not sidestep the other diners from two different areas. There was an excellent variety of food, a grill, pizza, salad bar, ice cream and desserts. The next morning it would become an amazing breakfast bar, complete wirth omelette station, waffle makers, and all the standard bacon, eggs , sausage, yogurt, fruit etc you could want!
Overall day 1 was one of a long, snowy journey, and finally settling into a comfotable, roomy cruise ship with a great dinner, a fabulous show lounge called the Stardust Theatre. The first night show was outstanding, called See World Beat, which was a journey around the world in music. The entertainers on the Gem were outstanding by any standards.
Tomorrow, I will showcase more of the public areas on the ship, and whatever fine dining I can find on NCL.